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Judge limits ICE's crowd control tactics following Minneapolis shooting
A federal judge on Friday barred federal agents in Minneapolis from arresting peaceful protesters, or using nonlethal munitions and crowd control tools against them.
The 80-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez, a Biden appointee who sits in Minneapolis, lands amid an increasingly confrontational dynamic between the Trump administration and Minnesota officials who have accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of stoking fear and violence on local streets. And it comes a week after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good.
Menendez’s order bars Homeland Security and ICE officials involved in Operation Metro Surge from “using pepper-spray or similar nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools against persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity.” The judge also prohibited federal agents from stopping vehicles following them, as long as those vehicles are maintaining a safe and “appropriate” distance.
White House, Justice Department and Homeland Security spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but the Trump administration may seek to immediately appeal the decision. It has recently surged more than 2,000 Homeland Security officials in Minnesota to conduct deportation operations and pursue claims of fraud by members of Minneapolis’ prominent Somali community.
The 80-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez, a Biden appointee who sits in Minneapolis, lands amid an increasingly confrontational dynamic between the Trump administration and Minnesota officials who have accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of stoking fear and violence on local streets. And it comes a week after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good.
Menendez’s order bars Homeland Security and ICE officials involved in Operation Metro Surge from “using pepper-spray or similar nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools against persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity.” The judge also prohibited federal agents from stopping vehicles following them, as long as those vehicles are maintaining a safe and “appropriate” distance.
White House, Justice Department and Homeland Security spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but the Trump administration may seek to immediately appeal the decision. It has recently surged more than 2,000 Homeland Security officials in Minnesota to conduct deportation operations and pursue claims of fraud by members of Minneapolis’ prominent Somali community.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/16/ice-minneapolis-arrests-judge-protests-00735416
NEWS: A federal judge found that ICE had repeatedly retaliated against peaceful protesters in unconstitutional ways — and barred agents involved in Minnesota's "Operation Metro Surge" from using similar tactics and force.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) 2026-01-17T01:55:09.158Z
w/ @joshgerstein @hassankanu
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
We've also confirmed the news that DOJ is probing Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey for conspiring to impede federal officers — prompting renewed fears that DOJ is being weaponized against the president's political adversaries.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) 2026-01-17T01:55:23.139Z
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...